Nissan Pathfinder Club-FAQ

I may get sued, but in my opinion it appears to be caused by the infamous Bridgestone/Firestone tires. I haven't heard anyone with Dunlop Grandtreks complain.

The temp. sensor is in front of the radiator (along with the compass sensor) right under the hood latch. Radiant heat from the rad. will warm it up if you are not moving. If this bothers you a simple fix is to put an aluminum "shield" around it (tube with top and bottom open - use a soda can for example). Do not use a steel shield, as it will mess up the compass.

Comments

pathstar: There is two sensors on the pillar infront of the radiator. One is for the ambient air,is used by the auto temp control for the heating/cooling. The other is used for the outside temp unit. THE OUTSIDE TEMP DOES NOT REGISTER UNTIL THE CAR TRAVELS OVER 15MPH FOR 100 SEC.!!!!!!!! This is so the heat from the radiator does not affect the senser. You CANNOT just turn the key on and expect the temp to be correct it does not work that way!! The compass direction electronics is built into the unit itself and does need to be calibrated due to magnetic deviation depending what part of the country you live in.Steve

I understand Meca's point, but the simple truth is my temp gauge is approximately 10 degress F high in the summer months. Does fine in the winter months after a short drive. I think it is not a good location for the sensor. Where does Ford place theirs? My Fords have always hit the Temp correctly, unfortunately ford doesn't do much else well.

I have to echo sanandton's post. That is exactly what I'm seeing. I also had a Ford whose outside temp was right on the mark, as well as a Mazda. My mother's M Benz is also very accurate. If some folks aren't having this problem maybe it's a defective sensor. However if you bring it up to the service people all you get in response is that they "all seem to be that way"!!

I'm sure that your answer to the outside temp gauge question is one possible answer. But, I think that there is more to it. Where I live and drive I don't have to sit in traffic on the 405 freeway (or traffic on any freeway ;-)). If I'm traveling up Interstate 15 at 75 mph for long extended periods it still reads WAY high. I once read someone's hypothesis that, due to the location of the sensor, it may be more accurately reading the road temperature. This MAY explain why it's way to high in hot weather and closer to the actual temp in cool or cold weather.I guess my point is: you've probably given a pretty good explaination as to how it works, but we still don't have an answer (and maybe there isn't a single answer) as to why so many of us feel that it is inaccurate.BTW, thanks for your efforts on putting an FAQ together. To bad you can't get a little more cooperation from Edmunds.

I have seen some complaints of the shimmy with the Dunlops and the Toyos as well as the Bridgestones. I had the Bridgestones. I've asked various tire people that I have a good report with and they have all said the same thing: 16" light truck tires are difficult to balance well. I had my Pathfinder for about 15,000 miles before I had the shimmy problem. The Firestone place couldn't fix it. The Nissan dealer tried to balance the tires 4 times to no avail. The Nissan dealer finally sent it to another place that has a Hunter 9700 tires/wheel balancer and they were able to get rid of the shimmy in 1 try. I went back to the Firestone place about 8,000 miles later (still without the shimmy) and told them to do a rotation and oil change. They did a balance and rotation and oil change. The shimmy was back (I wasn't ever charged for the new "balance" job.). My point is that the bigger tires are harder to balance and the shimmy requires nothing more than a shop with one of the Hunter 9700 balance machines to fix. Look on this website to find a dealer with one of these machines:

OK, Here we go Pathy owners. I love my truck. But the shimmy is unbearable. It's been a problem for more than 2 years. ( I have a 99.5) Anyway, I have had the Hunter thing done twice, had alignments, two tire changes (Toyo and Bridgestone)and even had the whole steering rack replaced!! The rotors have been checked and everything. Well, I have reached the end of what I will allow the co. to do and you should,too. I won't make any suggestions in this public forum, but you know what I mean. There is no answer. There are a lot of people getting the runaround here and it's unfair. The mechanics have no answers. I've been in two different stated with several mechanics and they can't find a solution. The hunter thing remedies the problem for a few weeks only. I can't stand behind this product as I once did. Not only have they stalled for more than two years, the problem is worse than ever. It takes away from the value of the truck and all of the other positive things the Pathy has to offer.

How many other people have had the shimmy, found a place that properly used the Hunter 9700 machine, and have had the shimmy return in less than a month?

Please don't take this the wrong way, gdicefresho1. I just want to hear if other people have had the same experience. You're the first person I've heard from that the Hunter machine didn't fix the problem.

I have also 1999.5 Pathy LE and HAD dreaded shimmy. After changing tires to Pirelli Scorpion and balanced with hunter 9700 machine, it is in good shape. I had it for about a year now (20,000 miles) and never had another balance done, just only tire rotation.

No, no Smithmd that's fine.I understand....But all I can say is that there are a lot of people like myself that are in this chatroom and others where the problem isn't fixed! It's the most annoying thing and additionally it's a potential safety hazard. But again I say, twice to the Hunter machine and two tire changes, several alignments...enough is enough. I just feel bad saying that because OVERALL Nissan is a great company with some great cars....apparently I just didnt get one of them.

I'm really sorry to hear that your shimmy hasn't been fixed. I agree that it is VERY annoying. At the time that I was dealing with the shimmy, I was driving 100 miles a day on the highway.

If you still want to try, I heard early on in this shimmy business some other things to try:1) replace the front bearings2) disconnect the drive shaft and rotate it 180 degrees (if the vibration stops or lessens, you've found your culprit...if it gets worse, that ain't it) Of course, if your shimmy is completely in the steering wheel, then this isn't it.

Do someone knows if its possible to addapt an AUTO DIMMING REAR VIEW MIRROR. I found severals websites that sells the item. But im not sure, maybe someone like me wonder why Nissan Corp. never thought of this. ANY SUGGESTIONS..THANKS

I am looking to purchase a mid-size SUV and seriously considering the Pathfinder. I want an SUV that drives smoothly, like a car, but can also trailer a 21.5 boat (2,100lbs, plus engine 300-500lbs and tandem trailer ?lbs) Can the pathfinder handle this? I live in Miami where, as you all know, there are no hills. Everything is flat!!! Please assistjuanjose

With 265 ft-lbs of torque (automatic trans), the Pathfinder should pull your boat quite well. You'll need a Class III towing receiver. Check out http://www.drawtite-hitches.com/mf_3_86.html for a nice towing setup which, for receiver, ball mount, and wiring, will cost you about half of what Nissan wants for their towing receiver.

I am looking at a 1994 LE 4WD Wagon Pathfinder with 104K in reasonable condition, have owned Nissan before last one an 89 Maxima went over 200K before we put it down. Not sure about Pathfinders any thoughts??? Seller asking $5K

3. Insert the key into the ignition and pull it out six times within ten seconds. This must be done steadily at a rate of one insertion/removal per second. Don't rush it. The emergency flashers will blink if you did it right.

4. On the 7th insertion, turn the key to the ACC position.

5. Press any button on the remote. The emergency flashers will blink again to indicate that it worked.

I have a 1995 SE pathfinder with a 110000 miles on it, I started hearing a clicking noise on the drivers side. When I shut the engine off it clicks slower like a timer, if somebody could tell me what this is I'd really appreciate it.

I'm looking to get a 2002 SE, and was wondering how the truck rides while towing about 2700lbs.. A guy I know said that it can be a bit sluggish, but I wanted to see what the general thought out there was. Also, with towing that kind of weight, does the SE need a tranny coolant system?

2001 LE towed the largest Uhaul trailer, 6'X12' 3300 lbs, with reslative ease. Car has plenty of power to handle that load. Vehicle tow rated at 5000lbs. It is recommended to have the AT aux cooler if you tow frequently. Only issue is the tongue weight sagging of rear end. Pathies have soft rear springs so there will be some sag with any added tongue and cargo weight. I recommend air lift spring helpers to level the load in the rear during towing. Look for the Outback Special Air Lift kit for Pathies.

I have a 2001 Pathfinder. The spare tire is under the rear of the SUV. I had a flat this morning and was able to remove the tire, but can't figure out how to remove the spare tire to put it on. The owners manual doesn't explain how to get it off. Help! I would greatly appreciate any help you are able to give. I can't call the dealership since it's Sunday evening and my baby is sitting in the driveway on a jack and my trash truck comes early tomorrow a.m.

Take the long rod with the bar through the end. Open the hatch, and in the bottom centre you will see a hole (a tube actually). Insert the rod in the hole, bared end first. You will find a handle in the vehicle as well (I think it's under the rear seat with the rod). Slip the handle on the end of the rod and turn - as I recall counterclockwise will lower the spare.

I have a '95 four door and I'm about to destroy the interior panels in order to get the front doors open again. They are stuck shut. Does anyone have a picture showing the guts of the door so I know what to avoid when drilling/cutting?